Book reviews on "Here In the Dark," "Cahokia Jazz," "The Last Word," "The Satsuma Complex," "Martyr!," and "The Living and the Rest."
Literary fiction is often a misunderstood term, with some equating it to thick books of turgid prose. Here are some recent titles that know how to be playful yet display considerable depth and creativity, with some even dabbling in the genre of Crime Fiction.
Here In the Dark by Alex Soloski
Vivian Parry, a published theatre critic and self-proclaimed workaholic, resorts to using sex and psychotropic drugs to numb herself and navigate through life. The plot thickens when she receives a call from David Adler, a purported graduate student working on a thesis about critics. He requests an interview with Vivian. Soon after, a woman named Irina contacts Vivian, claiming to be David's girlfriend/fiancée. Irina reveals that David has disappeared, and the police are dismissing the matter. Now perceived as the last person to have seen Adler alive, Vivian discovers through her inquiries that David also worked as a programmer for an online gaming site. Rumors circulate about his possible firing or accusations of skimming off the top.
But, of course, the real issue is whether Adler is still alive. Against her better judgment, Parry gets involved and decides to conduct her own investigation. She goes to the extent of adopting a separate identity and applying to the online gambling office where David worked, taking on the role of a receptionist to learn more about his disappearance. Even someone like you or me could have advised Vivian that this would lead to no good. And, sure enough, it isn’t long before she bites off more than she can chew. It doesn't help that she has a cavalier attitude about sex, becoming involved with a stage production designer, a police investigator, and practically seducing her boss at the gaming site. If it's twists, turns, and crazy revelations that would entice you to read this Manhattan noir novel, you're in good hands with Soloski..
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Spufford, the author of Golden Hill, sets the stage for what kind of research and writing quality can be expected in this new novel. However, it's more than just that, as Spufford delves into alternative historical fiction. In his 1922 USA, Cahokia is an industrial metropolis where the indigenous American Indian population holds sway. The society is divided into takouma (persons native to the continent), taklousa (persons of African ancestry), and takata (persons of European extraction). On the surface, different races and creeds coexist harmoniously, with the takouma occupying most positions of ultimate power. Yet, everything is on the brink of change as we enter this alternative world. The discovery of an eviscerated body of a takata, investigated by two detectives, threatens to tarnish this Golden Age.
Phin Drummond and Joe Barrow serve as the two detectives, with Barrow being a transplanted takouma who doesn’t speak Anopa, the ancestral language. Barrow essentially acts as our moral compass throughout the unfolding narrative. The plot is intricate and captivating: a takata conspiracy seeks to use the Klan to undermine the Cahokia hierarchy. Simultaneously, within the takouma world, steps are taken to fortify their position, and readers will be surprised to discover at what cost they're willing to 'prune' their own branches. A complex web of morality and the accumulation of dubious, compromised values is woven within the various strands of the plot. Barrow serves as our guide through this intricate narrative, starting off as someone who goes with the flow, a perceived insider who is, in reality, an outsider. However, he transitions to becoming a fulcrum for the events that unfold, ultimately providing resolution. \
The Last Word by Elly Griffiths
Griffiths is a multi-awarded crime fiction writer, and what sets her books apart is the fullness and diversity of the characters she creates in her stories. We were introduced to Harbinder Kaur, a Sikh female detective, in The Stranger Diaries, and we avidly followed her in two succeeding novels. In The Last Word, a stand-alone installment, Harbinder is relegated to the sidelines as we follow the exploits of Natalka and Edwin, and the Shoreham detective agency they set up in the wake of assisting Kaur in her cases. If you recall, Natalka is a Ukrainian emigre, now girlfriend to Benedict, an ex-monk who’s a seashore barista. Edwin, is an 84-year old pensioner, and he runs the agency with Natalka, taking on divorce cases while hoping for something meatier to fall on their laps.
When local writer Melody Chambers is found dead, a string of dead writers who have in common that they all attended a writers retreat, sets in motion an investigation that beguiles and entrances us, the readers. Edwin and Benedict posing as writers at the retreat is a hilarious interlude, and there’s Kaur making a cameo, as she’s called upon to help offer sage advice to her friends. As is often the case with Griffiths, there are clues, red herrings, plot twist abs turns aplenty, and we enjoy every moment as we’ve invested in her protagonists. Added to the cast here are Natalka’s mother Valentyna who just arrived to escape from the war in the Ukraine. Dmytro, the brother flew back to his wartorn country to help, so there’s the added suspense of what’s happening to him. A strong mystery thriller!
The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
If you want to talk about odd couples, read this first novel from veteran comedian Bob Mortimer, and you get to meet one of the oddest trios you can uncover in a mystery novel. It’s not exactly crime fiction; as you’ll soon discover there may or not be a crime committed as such. But if you want surreal, precious, and off the normal plane of things, this book is meant for you. Gary, Grace and Emily, along with the disappearing Brendan are the main characters you need to know. Gary is Mr. Non-Descript, Grace his best friend from next door, and Emily the woman Gary meets in a bar. Of course, he’s smitten, and everyone, including Gary, are of the opinion that Emily is a class of girl way above Gary’s league, we’re charmed as he bumbles his way into getting to know her better.
And of course, getting to know her better doesn’t really solve anything. She’s enmeshed with a boyfriend who’s part of a South London syndicate that includes corrupt police and shady investigators. So what’s a bumbling legal assistant like Gary going to do with all these shenanigans going on, and the girl of his dreams complicit in the matter? Grace is a character herself; the elderly neighbour who’s cranky, has a pet dog that loves to do his business in the children’s play area, and with a dark family secret of her own. It’s following these three on their surreal adventure that propels the charm quotient of this book. Admittedly, it’s not for everyone, as it’s more about character and personality, then it is about plot or mystery-solving. But do give it a try!
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
When we first encounter Cyrus Shams in 2015, he's a student at Keady University in the Midwest USA. A drunk, an addict, and a poet, Cyrus is consumed by an obsession with martyrs. Of Iranian origin, his father, Ali, works in the poultry business, while his mother tragically died in a bizarre plane accident in 1988. This incident occurred when a US ship in the Gulf mistakenly launched two missiles at a passenger jet, believing it was a military plane. This senseless accident prompted Ali to emigrate, taking his young son with him. Since the death of his father, Cyrus has spiraled into a vortex of depression, addiction, and alienation. By chance, he comes across the story of an artist in a Brooklyn gallery whose art involves dying in the gallery and helping people cope with her terminal cancer. For Cyrus, this represents martyrdom of a different order.
Akbar, primarily known as a poet, ventures into the realm of novels with this debut. Profane, funny, and adorned with incandescent prose, it won’t be long before Akbar gains as much fame as a novelist as he does as a poet. While the majority of the narrative focuses on Cyrus and his friend Zee, the novel's structure is intriguing. Independent chapters seem to exist, featuring late mother Roya as the narrator. Additionally, there are chapters portraying imaginary conversations that Cyrus creates to cope with his depression. One such conversation involves Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Beethoven Shams, Cyrus’ imaginary younger brother—named after Cyrus watched a dog movie and unrelated to the famous composer.
The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa
Daniel and the pregnant Moira live on a Mozambique island. The couple have organized the island’s very first literary and arts festival, with artists coming from Angola, South Africa, and Nigeria. Moira is an artist by profession, and there’s much at stake in making this first iteration of the festival a success. But unfortunately, nature isn’t ready to cooperate, as the coast is hit by a cyclone, rendering impassable the one bridge that connects the island to the mainland. Internet and phones are down, and so in a real sense, the island is now cut off from civilization and the rest of the world. What are creative people, writers and poets, going to do while living in this "limbo," in a state when the distinction between fiction and reality can easily blur?
What Agualusa imaginatively accomplishes is the painting of portraits for the various poets and writers attending the Festival. These depictions are vivid and rich, capturing individual idiosyncrasies and personality traits. If there's a common thread in how these artists interact, it's the exploration (or lack thereof) of an African identity as they unleash their creative energies. They engage in passionate debates about the necessity for this identity, or the alternative desire to simply be recognized as a writer without qualification. As Agualusa subtly introduces, the days of being cut off from the rest of the world extend, and there's a softening of the membrane we refer to as Time. The present, the past, and the future start to merge in a dizzying facsimile of reality within the confines of this novel. It's a precarious juggling act that Agualusa manages with flying colors.
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